486th Flight Test Squadron
Boeing C-32B 24452 parked at Luxembourg Airport during May 2008.
Boeing C-32B 24452 parked at Luxembourg Airport during May 2008.
Active1995–present
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
TypeFlying squadron
RoleSpecial operations
SizeTwo aircraft
Home baseEglin AFB, Florida
Motto(s)Non semper ea sunt quae videntur
(Latin: Not always what they seem)
Insignia
486th Test Flight Squadron emblem
Aircraft flown
TransportBoeing C-32B Gatekeeper

The 486th Flight Test Squadron is a secretive United States Air Force unit with a misleading designation, assigned to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida,[1][2] which is associated with activities of the U.S. State Department Foreign Emergency Support Team and Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Center. The squadron motto is "Non semper ea sunt quae videntur" which translates as "Not always what they seem".[3] It is currently assigned to the 96th Test Wing, and operates a pair of Boeing C-32B Gatekeeper aircraft,[4] on stand-by alert for special operations and intelligence missions world-wide.[5] Official documents make it clear that operations fall under the aegis of Air Force Special Operations Command.[6] Of the two C-32B craft in existence, the 486th appears to fly the more clandestine craft, or on more clandestine missions, as the other operator of the C-32B, the 150th Special Operations Squadron of the New Jersey Air National Guard, denies the existence of a second aircraft and makes no mention of the 486th in public or internal documentation.

Operations

The 486th Flight Test Squadron was activated by 1995. One former employee describes it as a "classified unit" and "a selectively manned, one-of-a-kind unit."[7] Very little is officially acknowledged about the classified missions of the 486th Flight Test Squadron, which is, in fact, not a test unit at all, but a quick-reaction transportation operation utilized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Domestic Emergency Support Team, and the Foreign Emergency Support Team to respond to terrorist incidents worldwide.[8][9] The aircraft may also be utilized in conjunction with the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency.[10]

The test unit designation was probably selected to blend in with the type of operations that are conducted regularly at Eglin AFB by Air Force Materiel Command whose mission is the development, acquisition, testing, deployment and sustainment of all air-delivered non-nuclear weapons. The vast Eglin complex is also home to the headquarters of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, as well as the United States Army's 7th Special Forces Group, which relocated from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2011.

Equipment

See also

References

  1. ↑ Holliday, Marilyn (11 June 2007). "Pacific Air Commandos get new commander". Air Force Special Operations Command. Retrieved 12 May 2023. Colonel Mullins is a command pilot with more than 6,500 flying hours and he has commanded the 486th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and has held staff duty positions at AFSOC and the Pentagon
  2. ↑ "The North Spin - Aircraft Flight Test Units". www.thenorthspin.com.
  3. ↑ "486th Flight Test Squadron". USAFpatches.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "2002 USAF Serial Numbers". www.joebaugher.com.
  5. ↑ Ambinder, Marc. "Secret Armies: An Exclusive Look At 10 Secret U.S. Forces". BuzzFeed.
  6. ↑ "Air Force Instruction 11-2C-32B, Volume 3" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Air Force Forces Course Administrator - Niceville, FL | Indeed.com". resumes.indeed.com.
  8. ↑ "Programs and Initiatives". 2009-2017.state.gov.
  9. ↑ "Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST)". US Department of State. Retrieved on 8 May 2013
  10. ↑ "Home". spyflight.co.uk.
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